Near-infrared luminescent properties of Ln:LaGdZr2O7 (Ln = Nd, Yb) transparent ceramics for solid-state laser applications

Via a facile solid reactive method, transparent Ln(0.1)La(0.9)GdZr(2)O(7) (Ln = Nd, Yb) ceramics were successfully fabricated for the first time. The highest in-line transmittances of Nd:LaGdZr2O7 and Yb:LaGdZr2O7 ceramics reached 68% and 69%, respectively, at 1100 nm. The microstructure and crystal structure of Ln(0.1)La(0.9)GdZr(2)O(7) transparent ceramics were fully investigated, indicating that the solid reactive technique is a good method of industrially fabricating Ln(0.1)La(0.9)GdZr(2)O(7) transparent ceramics. The PL spectra demonstrated that Ln(0.1)La(0.9)GdZr(2)O(7) ceramics can effectively be excited at 808 nm and 976 nm, which correlates with the widely applied output wavelengths of AlGaAs and InGaAs laser diodes. The luminescence decay curves were also studied, showing that the average fluorescence lifetimes of Nd0.1La0.9GdZr2O7 and Yb0.1La0.9GdZr2O7 transparent ceramics was 355 mu s and 663 mu s, respectively. Combined with its high temperature resistance and good mechanical strength, Ln(0.1)La(0.9)GdZr(2)O(7) (Ln = Nd, Yb) transparent ceramics can have potential applications in Nd/Yb solid-state laser construction.